John Bull Smith Dimitry (December 27, 1835 – September 7, 1901) was a mixed race Creole American author, professor, and notable Confederate soldier. He is one of the few people of color venerated by the Confederacy. His father was Creole American author Alexander Dimitry and his grandmother was notable Creole socialite Marianne Celeste Dragon. John was a member of one of the oldest Creole families in New Orleans. He was selected to write the Confederate Military History around the same period as Plessy v. Ferguson. John wrote for several news publications and published several of his own books.
John was born in Washington D.C. while his father worked as the principal clerk for the Southwest postal department. The family moved to New Orleans when he was a young age. His father was a notable author and heavily involved in education. He was the first person of color appointed superintendent of public education in the state of Louisiana from 1847 to 1854. John was raised in a highly educated Creole household and his father was a prominent member of that community. The Dimitry family endured several hardships as people of color due to their positions in the local community. His first cousin George Pandelly was involved in an incident dealing with his African heritage in the 1850s.
By the 1860s, John and other prominent members of the family participated in the American Civil War fighting for the Confederacy. Afterward, he wrote for the New Orleans Times in the mid-1860s early 1870s. He was a professor at the Colegio Caldas Barranquilla Columbia during the mid-1870s and by the 1880s he wrote for The New York Mail Express for ten years in New York City. He was honored by the Association of the Army of Tennessee which he was an honorary member. He was awarded $500 by the Swinton Story Teller for his short story Le Tombeau Blanc. He died at 65 years in New Orleans, LA.
Early life
John was born in Washington D.C. on December 27, 1835. He was the son of Mary Powell Mills and Creole diplomat Alexander Dimitry. His mother's father was Robert Mills. He was known for building the Washington Monument. His grandmother was Marianne Celeste Dragon. John spent his early life in Washington D.C. where his father was the principal clerk for the Southwest postal department. The family remained in Washington until the 1840s. John was educated in College Hill, Mississippi at Saint Charles Parish a school established by his father who was also the dean. Around the same period, his father was the first person of color appointed superintendent of public education in the state of Louisiana from 1847 to 1854.
In 1853, John's first cousin George Pandely was running for a seat on the Board of Assistant Aldermen, the position was responsible for urban infrastructure in New Orleans including streets and sidewalks similar to a city councilman. Pandelly won the election and weeks after an accusation was brought against Pandelly by Victor Wiltz. Wiltz accused Pandelly and his family of being of African descent. People of African descent were not allowed to hold public office. Pandelly resigned his elected position after seven months due to pressure from the mayor's office and his peers. Pandelly took his opponent Victor Wiltz to court for slander in the legal case Pandelly v. Wiltz (1854) because Wiltz accused Pandelly's grandmother of having African ancestry to discredit his public position as assistant alderman. The case was dismissed Pandelly won but did not receive financial compensation, but the Pandely Affair inspired later generations to invent a new genealogy for themselves in which they claimed descent from a mythical, possibly invented Indian princess of the Alibamu tribe named Malanta Talla.
The incident disrupted the family's social identity. At the onset of the affair Alexander Dimitry’s school went from 50 students to 2 but five years later he became the first person of color to hold the position of U.S. Ambassador of Costa Rica & Nicaragua. Initially, John worked in the office of United States Attorney General Caleb Cushing and eventually became the secretary of legation to the U.S. Ambassador of Costa Rica & Nicaragua during his father's tenure from (1859 - 1861). Around the same period, he also attended Georgetown along with his brother Charles Patton Dimitry.